A Good Big Brother
by Livily
Summary: As the VenturiMcDonald family prepares for a long road trip, Casey grudgingly realizes that on rare occasions, Derek isn't such a bad guy. Sometimes. ONLY sibling stuff.


**This story is basically a simple sibling fluff story. Nothing, absolutely nothing, more than that. I'm going on the idea that Derek is just slightly older than Casey, even if just by a couple months. That's where the title comes about. Again, just sibling stuff. I felt that there weren't enough stories in this section focusing on the fact that they're actually a family. I don't watch the show all too often, but I hope things are accurate enough. **

**Disclaimer: I don't own Life With Derek... I don't even wish I did. I'm happy right where I am. Actually, I wouldn't mind owning Narnia, but that's a whole different story!**

**A Good Big Brother **

Casey McDonald ducked into her room as a torrent of water hit her back. She slammed the door shut and slouched against it, listening to her stepbrothers, Derek and Edwin Venturi laugh it up. She huffed and glared at the door, crossing her arms across her chest. Eventually, Derek's guffaws and Edwin's snickers disappeared as they realized she wasn't unlocking her door anytime soon. Her eyes darted to her bed, where her entire wardrobe was strewn across the neatly made bed. The open suitcase seemed to taunt her, and Casey bit her lip, turning once more to her list. She _had _been packing before her stepbrothers had rudely interrupted her.

Beginning to fold her clothes, she sighed as she remembered how happy she had been when school let out for the summer. She had survived her first year as a new student and was welcoming summer with open arms. That is, until her mother and George excitedly informed the family of the road trip the Venturi/McDonald family would be embarking on at the release of school. Casey and Derek had both begged to stay home, but the parents stood firm, and now, the day before their departure, Casey was attempting to cram all of the things she would need into the single suitcase she had been restricted to. It wasn't even fair! How could one be organized if one didn't have sufficient space? Although six hours in a van with her four siblings and parents did not excite her, she had to admit that she was looking forward to getting away from everyday life.

A knock on her door sounded as she finished shoving the final odds and ends into her overstuffed suitcase. She moved cautiously to her door, not wanting to have another encounter with Derek or Edwin. "Who is it?" She called through the wooden door.

"It's me." Casey sighed, relieved, when she recognized her younger sister, Lizzie's voice. Casey quickly unlocked the door and let Lizzie slide in through a small crack, before safely shutting it again.

"What's that all about?" Lizzie asked, jerking her head toward the door.

Casey rolled her eyes. "I'm trying to avoid Derek, but what else is new?"

Lizzie grinned at her older sister. "So, are you ready for tomorrow?"

Casey scoffed, "I'll never be ready to sit in a van with the Venturis for six hours."

"It might not be that bad." Lizzie shrugged optimistically.

Casey cocked an eyebrow and attempted to zip her suitcase. "Maybe not for you. You'll be sitting with Edwin. Me, on the other hand, well, I have the joy of sitting between Marty and Derek." Lizzie quickly offered to trade spots, but Casey rejected, telling the younger girl that she wouldn't put her through that sort of misery.

Tightening her pony-tail, Lizzie grinned. "Thanks, sis."

Casey waved her off. "Yeah, yeah, yeah. Now, was there anything you wanted to talk about?"

Lizzie opened her mouth to answer, but a loud banging on the door cut her off. "Casey!" Marty screamed through the door. Casey and Lizzie exchanged bemused looks.

"What is it, Marty?" She asked, exasperated.

" Open the door!" Marty screeched.

Casey rolled her eyes. "What do you need?" Casey repeated.

The little girl was silent, undeniably pouting, before she continued. "I need your help." Defeated, Casey opened the door.

"DEREK!" She yelled, as a full blast of water hit her square in the face. She spluttered, spitting the water out of her mouth and swiping at her dripping face.

He shrugged at her innocently. "I couldn't resist, Case. Sorry."

Casey sent him a nasty glare, sure that he wasn't at all sorry. "I'm sure you are," She muttered under her breath.

He shot her again, laughing as the new burst of cold water caused her to gasp. "Sorry, that one was an accident."

"Derek!" She screeched, stomping up to him. She glared at him and then punched his arm before turning on Marty. "What did I tell you about lying, Marty?"

The little girl looked at her feet. "I think you said it was bad…. But Smerek said that---"

"And never," Casey demanded, glaring at her stepbrother again, "listen to Derek!"

Derek laughed and scooped Marty up. "That's my little Smarty!" Narrowing her eyes at the pair, she marched back into her bedroom, slamming the door loudly.

"I'm so sick of him, Liz." She said, sinking onto her bed.

"You just have to learn to handle him. " The voice made her jump and she turned to find Edwin rather than Lizzie.

"Where'd Lizzie go?"

Edwin shrugged. "She mumbled something about needing to pack. Frankly, I think she was just trying to escape Derek's super-soaker."

Wiping at her soaked top, Casey shot the younger Venturi a nasty look. "I don't blame her," she muttered bitterly.

"Derek's not that bad of a guy once you get to know him. He's just a little rough around the edges. Sometimes, rarely, he's actually a good big brother."

Casey scoffed. "A _little _rough?"

The younger boy shrugged at her. "Just telling you what I think."

"So what are you doing in here then?"

Edwin folded his hands together and smiled. "I was just here to watch the show, and I figured the best seat was from this chair. Have you ever noticed that when sitting here, if you tilt your head just right you can see the entire hallway?"

Casey returned to the suitcase's zipper. "Absolutely fascinating, Ed."

He nodded, "It might be useful to you someday."

"Thanks for the tip. Shouldn't you be packing?"

Catching the sarcasm in her voice, Edwin strode toward the door. "Actually, I was just leaving. Thank-you for your hospitality."

Casey rolled her eyes, finding her younger stepbrother's antics much more amusing than Derek's. As the door clicked shut, Casey finally succeeded in zipping her suitcase. Moving it off of her bed, she flopped onto the soft bed. This was going to be a _very _long drive.

That night, at approximately midnight, a high-pitched scream startled Casey from her slumber. Quickly rubbing sleep out of her eyes, she darted into Marty's room. Trying to enter the room, she felt herself collide with something, or someone for that matter. She squinted, willing her eyes to adjust to the darkness. The person moved and she stumbled into the room.

"Marty?" She called, as a light flipped on, blinding her. She shielded her eyes and looked to the person. "Derek?" She asked curiously as he approached Marty's bed.

He shot her a look that clearly stated, "I'm too tired for this right now," and sat at the foot of Marty's bed. "What's wrong, Smarty?" He asked tenderly.

A lump under the blankets moved and Marty's head peeped out. "Smerek? Casey?" She asked nervously.

"That's right, Marty. We're here." Casey said, shooting a look at Derek, and moving to sit in a chair next to Marty's bed .

"There was a giant monster…." Marty began fearfully.

"He wasn't real, Marty." Casey said sympathetically.

Marty looked at her dubiously. "He was too. And he chased me…. And" The little girl shuddered. "He was going to eat me!" She gave another squeal and clutched a stuffed unicorn.

"He wasn't going to eat you, Marty." Derek began.

"He said he was going to." Marty whimpered, although Casey could see that her fear was melting away.

"Well… maybe he was going to try."

Casey cut in before Derek could scare their little sister any more. "It was all just a dream, Marty. Everything is exactly how it was when you went to sleep. When you wake up in the morning, we'll be leaving for our vacation. Won't that be fun?"

Marty shook her head and Derek intervened, realizing that Casey's boring reality check was doing nothing for his sister. "What I meant to say, Smarty, is that he might have tried to eat you, but he would never be able to."

"Why's that, Smerek?" Marty asked, sensing the beginning of a story.

"I can't believe you forgot, Marty!" Derek faked exasperation and slapped a hand to his forehead. "Don't you remember your princess super powers? With those things, there's no way some wimpy old monster could even get close to you!"

Marty puffed up importantly. "You're right, Smerek!"

Casey couldn't help but smile as Marty snuggled back into her bed, apparently ready for the rest of the story, and eventually sleep. "I've got this covered." Derek said, for the first time speaking to Casey. "You can go back to bed."

Casey's eyes darted to the door and she thought of her warm bed. It was incredibly tempting but…. "I'm fine, thanks. I don't need the sleep, and I don't mind helping you with Marty. If I'm tired, I can always sleep in the car tomorrow."

"Not next to me." Derek muttered beneath his breath, although luckily, his stepsister didn't appear to hear it.

"Smerek!" Marty tugged on Derek's hand. "Finish the story."

Eyes turning back to Marty, Derek smiled. "That's right. Now, where was I….?" The story continued and Casey leaned back in the chair, clutching a pillow to her body. Her eyes drifted shut and she pried them open. If Derek could stay up with Marty, so could she. Her eyes closed again, and she yawned. Maybe just a little cat nap, she consoled herself.

Casey woke the next morning with a stiff neck, rubbing it gingerly. She was completely disorientated, before she remembered the night's previous events. She must have fallen asleep during Derek's story. She was surprised to find a blanket draped haphazardly over her body. She silently concluded that Marty must have done that, although something in the back of her mind told her it had been Derek. She shrugged it off, thinking it was something too nice for him. She glanced at Marty's unmade bed and found that she was the only one occupying the room. Kicking a stuffed animal out of her way, she stood and picked her way over the toys and towards the door. "You fell asleep on me." Derek's voice stopped her on her way to the bathroom.

She shrugged. "Sorry, you did say I could sleep."

"In your own room." He retaliated. "It took me another thirty minutes to convince the poor kid that your snores weren't the monster."

"Ha ha." Casey responded, pushing past him and toward the bathroom.

He grabbed her wrist, stopping her. "Just try not to snore in the car today, okay?"

She glared at him and managed to shut the bathroom door behind her, beginning her morning preparations.

After showering, she lugged her suitcase downstairs and outside to the car. "Good morning." She said.

Her mother spared her a quick smile before turning back to the trunk. "I just don't know how we're going to fit everything in this car."

Casey bit her lip. "Well, here's my suitcase."

Nora sighed heavily. "Yes, and I suppose you used the largest one?"

Casey offered her mother an apologetic grin. "What did you expect?" Her mother sighed and shooed her away, hoisting Casey's heavy luggage into the already-crowded car. "When will we be leaving?" Casey asked over her shoulder as she walked back toward the house.

George rubbed his forehead tiredly. "Sometime soon, I hope. Will you go and see if the other kids are ready to go?" Casey nodded and entered the house.

"You guys!" She called up the stairs. A patter of footsteps met her ears as Marty, Lizzie and Edwin arrived at the top of the stairs. "Are you ready to leave?"

Edwin and Lizzie nodded efficiently, and Marty nodded, throwing her arms out wide. "I already gave my clothes to Daddy and Nora. Lizzie helped me."

Lizzie blushed as Casey gave her an appreciative look and said, "Great job, Liz." A second later, Derek came bounding down the stairs, pushing the younger kids to the side.

"Let's get this show on the road." He said, MP3 in hand. Derek scooped Marty up, taking her outside, while Lizzie and Edwin jokingly tried to shove each other down the stairs. Checking one last time to be sure that her brothers and sisters were heading toward the car, Casey ran up to her room and grabbed her own MP3 and a magazine. She glanced around her room wistfully.

"This is probably the last time I'll be alone in a week." She said aloud, ears soaking up the peaceful quiet.

"Stop talking to yourself and get down here," Derek's rough voice startled her out of her reverie. "Dad and Nora are anxious to leave, although I'm not sure why." Derek mumbled the last part under his breath and it was one of those rare moments where Casey couldn't help but agree with her stepbrother.

"Hey," she said aloud, stopping Derek before he could leave. "Can we…. Let's try and get along on this trip, okay?"

He cocked an eyebrow. "Get along? Are you feeling all right, Case?"

She nodded quickly. "Yeah, I'm fine. Just listen for a second. I think that this trip is really important to my mom and your dad. Let's just try not to mess it up for them, okay?"

For a moment, Casey didn't think Derek was going to consent. After all, causing her annoyance and suffering was one of the things that brought him the greatest enjoyment. Then he nodded. "Okay. I'm in. As long as you don't get all weird on me." Not really understanding what he meant, Casey snatched up her stuff and pushed past him.

"Come on, Derek!" She called over her shoulder. She rushed down the stairs and he followed. Within minutes, the entire Venturi/McDonald family, and their luggage, was crammed tightly into the family van.

"Well," said George, "we're off."

Casey was squeezed, as she had told Lizzie the previous day, between Marty's car seat and Derek. Although true to his word, he didn't poke or jab her once. After stopping the pick up breakfast burritos, the family continued the drive. Within minutes, Nora and George had turned on the radio, loudly adding their own voices to the song. Casey exchanged a look with Derek and they both smothered laughs as their parents belted songs from their high school days. "Hey, Nora, Dad," Derek spoke up, his voice strained from suppressed laughter, "as much as I don't like this music, you ought to let the artists do the singing. I don't think they need your help." Casey let out a giggle, and Lizzie and Edwin laughed in front of them. Sure enough, the music was turned down and the loud singing stopped. She turned to Derek.

"Thanks," she said, a smile on her face.

He shrugged. "I do what I can." Casey rolled her eyes at his smugness.

During the next hour, Casey amused herself by flipping through a magazine and listening to her own music. Derek entertained himself in a very similar fashion, although his constant head-banging started to grate her nerves. As the hours passed, the family played a variety of games like I Spy and twenty questions. By the time they had reached their third hour, Casey found herself utterly bored. Marty, Nora, and Edwin were all dozing quietly, while Lizzie played some sort of soccer game on a handheld gaming system. Unlike the previous hours, the car was quiet and Casey found last night's lack of sleep wearing on her. Her eyes fluttered shut, and in ten minutes, she was sound asleep.

When she woke, she found herself propped up on Derek's shoulder, as Marty continued to nap on her other side. She moved to groggily sit up and found that Derek's head was resting on her own. Looking at a clock, she concluded that she had only been asleep for thirty minutes and resolved to go back to sleep. "I can't believe how well they're getting on," Nora commented softly right before Casey slipped back into sleep, her head resting softly on her older brother's shoulder. Waking an hour later, Casey found that someone had moved her head so that she was leaning on Marty's car seat. She also found that a sleeping Edwin was on her other side, and Derek had moved to sit next to Lizzie. Tightening her ponytail, she was surprised to find that Derek and Lizzie were engaged in some type of activity or another, their heads bent over what appeared the handheld game.

"Goal!" Lizzie cried softly, punching Derek's arm.

"Ow! Liz!" He cried, pretending to be hurt. She laughed and the game continued in silence for several minutes longer.

She cocked her head to the side as Lizzie and Derek bantered back and forth, the handheld rapidly changing hands. "You see?" Edwin's voice said. Startled, Casey turned to find Edwin up and watching her.

"Do I see what?"

"He's not that bad of a guy." Edwin jerked his head toward Derek. Casey was surprised to find herself agreeing somewhat. Only a little. She thought of the past night when he had adeptly consoled Marty and the mysterious blanket. He had even agreed not to fight for their parents' sake, and now, he was playing with Lizzie.

"What?" Derek asked defensively, turning around as he felt her gaze on his back.

"Oh nothing," Casey smiled. "you're just a good big brother sometimes."

Derek cocked an eyebrow and rolled his eyes. "Whatever." He mumbled, turning back to Lizzie. Casey exchanged a look with Edwin and the two began laughing.

"But he's still Derek," Casey stated, mirth laced through her voice.

"Yep," Edwin agreed with a nod, "he's still Derek."

**Don't forget to review. It will definitely brighten my day!**


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